“Sure.” I stared up into his sharp blue eyes, and my stomach churned. It was almost impossible for me to even remember my own name when I looked into them. “Az it is.”

“Good.” He lifted a finger to my neck and dragged it along my skin. Sparks stormed through my belly, and my chest went hot. I trembled as I leaned back against the wall, my body betraying me. His lips curled. “Also, good. Keep that up. We want everyone to think you want me.”

I didn’t tell him that my reaction had not been fake. Because it sure as hell didn’t mean that I wanted him. It was just my body being weird. He was an asshole. An asshole demon.

Why was I doing this again?

10

The party was being held on a rooftop bar smack dab in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen. I’d hoped we’d get out of this little pocket of the city but no such luck. It seemed as though all of Asmodeus’s business was wound up in these streets, as well as his friends.

As we waited in the gold-plated elevator, he dropped his voice to a low murmur. “I must warn you, some of the guests may be…wearing costumes. Don’t be alarmed. Some of them are fond of gothic horror.”

My heart flipped as I glanced down at my dress. “Costumes? Um, then shouldn’t we be wearing that, too?”

He chuckled. “That won’t be necessary.”

I opened my mouth to ask him another question just as the elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors whirred open. Partygoers were crammed into the rooftop space. In the distance, the lights of New York glowed like a thousand stars. A fanged girl trotted into the elevator, her hand tucked into a guy’s arm whose hands were covered in fur.

Realization slammed down on me as Az led me out onto the roof. He hadn’t meant costumes at all. This was a party for supernaturals, and he hadn’t told me. Because he thought I didn’t know vampires and werewolves are real. Here, they let down their masks, if they chose to. Here, the demons came out to play.

Az gave me a gentle nudge. I glanced up at him, my heart pounding hard against my ribcage. Was I the only human here?

“Are you alright?” Az asked with concern in his voice. “You’ve gone pale.”

“No, I’m just...” I pressed my sweaty palms against my dress and tried to clear my head.